“Glades help kids learn to make rounder turns,”
he explained after the lesson. For intermediate and
advanced groups, he also uses the FamilyCross park,
a motocross-style boardercross/skiercross course on
Lower Tomahawk. The course’s banked turns “make
the kids get their skis on edge and parallel without
having to do the actual movement,” Chris explained.
“They get the feeling of a parallel turn. On the
rollers, they get the feeling of unweighting.”
By afternoon, the swimming pools at the Jackson
Gore Inn were pulling Samantha’s attention away
from skiing. It was cold outside, so I gave in.
We skied to the Jackson Gore side of Okemo and
changed into our bathing suits. By 5 p.m., we had
sampled the big twisting slide that sends swimmers
splashing into the Spring House’s pool, and we
had floated in the inn’s large indoor/outdoor pool,
steaming like a cauldron. Later, we grabbed dinner
at Sienna—chicken with artichokes, portabellos, and
pesto for me and plain buttered pasta for Sam.
That evening, Samantha asked if she could attend
the movie alone with a friend’s son rather than hang
out with us, the boring adults. They were showing
the Disney flick, Meet the Robinsons, in one of the
inn’s meeting rooms. She had seen it before, but the
lure of an unsupervised evening was too much to pass
up. After the movie, Sam giggled her way back to
our room and collapsed on the bed. “Can we ski here
tomorrow?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said.
“Good, because I
don’t want to leave.”
In the end, what did we learn from two resorts that
really know how to make kids happy? Give them
food they like and movies and game arcades
to entertain them. Give them watery
playgrounds to splash around in. But mostly,
give them a good instructor – someone
who knows how to connect with kids and
can make learning fun. I have a ski-happy
seven-year-old to verify that all of this is true.
Nordic Ski & Snowshoe Center
60km Trails w�ith 40km Groomed Snowmaking �Horse Drawn �Sleigh Rides Casual Dining Family Fun Nordic Quest
800.483.2311 � www.mountaintopinn.com
38 skivermont.com
